Saturday, April 22, 2006

The Leadership Race on Everyone's Mind

Sure, the Liberal leadership race has gotten a lot of ink and there's a lot of buzz about Preston Manning and the provincial PC race out here.

But, the real leadership race we've all been following has finally played itself out - the PEI New Democrats have elected a new leader:

Prince Edward Island's New Democrats have chosen a new leader.

Dean Constable, a 26-year-old stage manager from Charlottetown, beat out 53-year-old Michael DesRoches, who works with child and family services.

Mr. Constable says he received 29 votes to Mr. DesRoches's 19 in the one-member-one-vote leadership convention in Summerside on Saturday.


Yes, you read that right: 29-19. In a one-member, one vote system. 29-19. Needless to say, Mr. Constable has a bit of work to do...

posted by calgarygrit at 6:20 p.m.

22 Comments:

  • Do you even have a convention then? Or do you just have everyone over at your house for coffee??

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:31 p.m.  

  • Yet another argument for merging the four Atlantic provinces.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:47 p.m.  

  • The PEI New Democrats are a joke. They've won a single seat (out of 27) in their whole history since the 1970s. In 1996, they elected Herb Dickieson in West Point-Bloomfield because of protest against the outgoing Liberal government's closure of a hospital in O'Leary; Dickieson served one term, and then came second in 2000. And that second-place finish is the second-best result for the PEI NDP in its history, because they always finish third, with only a handful of votes. In they got only 3% of the vote. Honestly, I don't know why we even include them in the leaders' debates.

    By Blogger IslandLiberal, at 6:53 p.m.  

  • I'm a New Brunswick fella, and I'd be satisfied if PEI, NB and NS merged together to make some kind of "super" province....

    Maybe then we could get more equalization payments out of the rest of the country haha

    By Blogger Forward Looking Canadian, at 7:18 p.m.  

  • How does the PEI legislature have 27 seats? What percentage of the PEI population does that make either an MP or an MPP?

    I think it must be the most common profession in the province... well, maybe after potato farmer. I mean, do they have 27 gas stations? 27 tow trucks?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:45 p.m.  

  • What percentage of the PEI population does that make either an MP or an MPP?

    Roughly one MLA for every 3300 people.

    By Blogger IslandLiberal, at 7:50 p.m.  

  • Student politicians at some universities represent more people.

    What's the ration of local councillors to people in Ottawa or Toronto? I think in toronto it's on the order of 1:50,000.

    Atlantic Canada is a joke, all of the provinces should be combined, with ridings of similar population to Ontario.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:20 p.m.  

  • Atlantic Canada is a joke, all of the provinces should be combined, with ridings of similar population to Ontario.

    If they did that PEI would be one riding. I say this because I live in a riding with about the same population as the entirety of PEI.

    By Blogger A View From The Left, at 8:49 p.m.  

  • I represent more people at university. I represent over
    40 000 students, there are two of us...
    So 1 for every 20 000. That's still more, this thing is making my head swell. Its hilarious anyways...
    we should focus on more important things like Kennedy for PM...
    we've already had him as Prez
    so why not PM

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:20 p.m.  

  • Atlantic Canada is a joke, all of the provinces should be combined, with ridings of similar population to Ontario.

    Yes, just what we need, provincial governments that are as remote and distant as possible. Where would the capital be?

    In any case, Nova Scotia has lower per capita federal representation than either Manitoba or Sask - I suppose you think the Prairies are a joke too? Indeed, Sask has 14 seats for just under a million people - NS has 11 for just over 900,000.

    The day we get stuck with NB or NL (the Island's fine) will be a cold day in hell.

    By Blogger JG, at 9:29 p.m.  

  • All the other provinces get along just fine, for goodness' sake. One never hears Quebecers complain that Quebec City is too remote and distant from them.

    Oh no? Quebec's population is highly concentrated along the St. Lawrence - the Atlantic provinces' population is scattered over a huge area, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and two time zones. There is no administrative reason to merge the provinces, nor is there any historical reason whatsoever to put NL together with the other three. Governance tends toward shoddy as it is without arbitrarily sticking these four provinces together, without giving any thought to what effect it would have. Mergers such as these certainly don't save money, it necessarily makes government less responsive to the people, and it would mean a significant loss in political power and influence for Acadians. Would this new super-province be bilingual?

    I'm not interested in the least in considering the thoughtless opinions of those who consider this region a "joke".

    By Blogger JG, at 2:36 a.m.  

  • m'eh, the PEI New Democrat leadership race is more intersting then the liberal race.

    lets hear it for the b-side no-name candidates....

    *polite applause*

    By Blogger bza, at 4:23 a.m.  

  • Ah, the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd! The story doesn't mention whether there were any other candidates, or whether there were any deals brokered in smoke-filled back rooms, or an "anybody but what's-his-name" movement. I wonder how late into the night the voting went on? Does anyone have any of the buttons or posters, for souvenirs? Anyone check out the hospitality suites?

    Thank god he won it on the first ballot. Long conventions can be murder.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:39 a.m.  

  • Merge them all into a super province?

    What, super provinces have the pop. of the Calgary-Red Deere-Edmonton corridor? But with 10% of the money?

    Rather Atlantic Canada would become a centralized,equalization sucking nightmare for the rest of the country.

    I advocate nuclear testing.LOL. Just kidding fishmongers.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:35 p.m.  

  • Leadership Race? What leadership race?
    Oh, wait. Brison's announced. Tomorrow Bobby Rae. THEN you can call it a leadership race. Had to import some of that leadership from other parties don't'ya know?

    Only thing on the mind of most sensible folks these days is summer, BBQ season and plenty of beer and popcorn for us stay-at-home parents.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:37 p.m.  

  • How would you feel to be the guy who lost that? Man, thats gotta sting.

    They probably had thier convention in a parking lot or something.

    By Blogger Zac, at 3:37 p.m.  

  • Scott Brison should run for NDP PEI leadership. He's only an NDP leadership race away from the triple crown, he's a Maritimer, and it's a race he might actually win.

    Assuming he can find 30 supporters of his in PEI...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:46 p.m.  

  • Hey all y'all haters, China called. They were wondering why Canada was still a country with a seat at the UN. They said they were in favour of our provinces being rolled into one US super-state.

    By Blogger RP., at 7:19 p.m.  

  • Yah, 'cause if anyone's making out like bandits in confederation, it's the Maritimes. And the Praries.

    By Blogger Wrye, at 6:35 p.m.  

  • Merging governments doesn't in and of itself save moeny. Ask the people of Metropolitan Toronto when the six member municipalities merged into a single megacity.

    By Blogger James Bow, at 11:08 p.m.  

  • The PEI 'parliament' is actually a house, and people deliberate around a table.

    Darn cute!

    ~B

    By Blogger Unknown, at 8:55 p.m.  

  • fine nice to go here. I can get lot more information for home loan here thanks.

    By Blogger facebook fun, at 8:16 a.m.  

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